Blueberry Jam Recipe Without Pectin

Blueberries are easy to work with because they're less juicy than other fruits.
Photo by Andrea Chesman.

Blueberries are less juicy than strawberries, making them an easy fruit to work with. The final amount of sweetener is up to you. I usually add the full 2 cups because my family prefers it sweet. Yield: about 8 half-pints.

Low-Sugar Blueberry Jam

Ingredients:

• 12 cups (about 4 pounds) wild or cultivated blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1⁄4 cup bottled lemon juice
• 1-1⁄2 to 2 cups sugar, maple syrup, or honey, divided
• 1⁄2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Instructions:

1. Place a small plate in the freezer for testing the set. Combine the blueberries and lemon juice in a large, heavy saucepan over low heat. Let the berries cook for a few minutes, until they begin to break down, and then crush them with a potato masher.

2. After the mixture is juicy with crushed fruit, increase the heat and add 1-1⁄2 cups of the sweetener and the cinnamon, if using, and bring to a boil. Boil vigorously until the mixture is fairly thick, about 30 minutes. You'll have reached the jam stage when a spoonful of jam dropped onto a cold plate holds its shape and you can leave a clean trail by passing your finger through the mixture.

3. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. Taste the jam and add the additional 1⁄2 cup sweetener if desired. Ladle the hot jam into clean, hot half-pint jars, leaving a 1⁄2-inch headspace. Install new canning jar lids. Process in a boiling water bath or atmospheric steam canner for 15 minutes. Remove from the canner and allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12 hours. Store in a cool, dry place. Store opened jars in the refrigerator.

Find other low-sugar jam recipes and learn more about preserving with less sugar and added pectin in Making Low-Sugar Jams .

Andrea Chesman cooks, writes, and teaches in Vermont, where she lives on a 1-acre homestead. Find her books Serving Up the Harvest and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How in our online store.

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